To: Parents and Carers of Children in Pennines Township, Headteachers, Staff and Governors

CONSULTATION PAPER Need for Extra Primary School Reception Class Places from now until September 2015

17th January PENNINES TOWNSHIP 2012

To: Parents and carers of children in Pennines Township, Headteachers, staff and governors of Pennines Township primary schools, Pennines Township Councillors, Secondary Headteachers, Secretaries of Recognised Trades Unions, Manchester and Salford Dioceses. 1. What is this Letter about? The Local Authority is looking at how many extra Reception Class places are going to be needed in the next few years. The reason for this letter is to tell you how many extra places are likely to be needed in Pennines Township, and to ask your views about where these places should be provided.

2. How many Reception Class places are there and how many children are expected?

Pennines-Reception Places & Expected Demand Pupils 440 Reception Places

370 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015-16

2011/1 2012/1 School Year 2 3 2013/14 2014/15 2015-16 Pupils 401 431 412 408 393 Reception Places 407 407 407 407 407

The graph above shows that this school year there were enough places in Pennines Township because extra places were available at Holy Trinity CE. At least 24 extra places will be needed this September and a small number of extra places may be needed overall in 2013. However significant surplus capacity remains at Stansfield Hall and together with the effects of appeals decisions, there is a more complex picture of place need, in respect of both demographic demand and the effect of parental preference. A more detailed look at the distribution of births suggests that consideration needs to be given to the need for extra places in the Milnrow area as well as Littleborough to address the overall demand and to meet local admission pressures. 3. Where do you get your information from and how accurate is it? The Local Authority uses government figures on the actual number of children born in the township, and based on past trends, looks at the proportion of those children who then take up Reception Class places. In recent years this percentage has been high, so we expect this trend to continue. The projected Reception Class intakes do not take account of the possible effect of any new housing at this stage. The birth information we have suggests that there likely to be localised admission pressures in parts of the township.

049d6ff0503eccbddcd63f6422bcbee3.doc 4. What do you take into account to decide where to put extra places? The Local Authority has to make sure there are enough school places for all children who need them. In deciding the number of extra places needed, it is assumed that all current Reception places will be filled. The Authority has taken into account a number of factors to decide where to put extra places, these are:- distribution of births; physical space in schools; scope to put in extra accommodation; making sure schools can comply with class size limits; and avoiding creating too many extra places. The proposals in the table below show the current thinking to meet the extra need. Alternative proposals and views are invited especially if there is a view that more school places ought to be provided.

5. How will you put extra space into schools and how will you avoid overcrowding? The solution is likely to be different for each school. We will look at each school individually- some schools have more space than others and so extra places might be possible by using spare or under- used spaces. In some cases demountable classrooms might be needed. Each year the Authority will need to look closely at the number of applications for places in the Township.

6. Where are you thinking of putting extra new places? School Year Sept 2012 Sept 2013 Sept 2014 Sept 2015 Current Admission 407* 407 407 407 Places Expected Pupil 431 412 408 393 Numbers Additional places 24 5 1 0 needed Current Plan for Up to 30 places at extra places Littleborough CP Where more extra There is a need to consider whether additional places are needed to address places might be localised admission pressures within different parts of the township. In addition to made available the extra places proposed for Littleborough a further proposal is to consider increasing admission capacity at Crossgates Primary school from 36 to 45 to address expected local demographic (birth) pressure and increase parental preference in the Milnrow area. * Planned Admission Number (PAN) set out in the 2011-12 Admissions Booklet inc. extra places at Holy Trinity CE

7. Where can I find out more? This letter concerns Pennines Township. Information on the other townships and the full consultation paper is available on the Rochdale MBC website: http://consultations.rochdale.gov.uk/council-wide/schools You can also get a copy by contacting me at the address below.

8. Making your views known: Your views on the following will be helpful, * are we proposing enough extra places? * are the places in the right locality to meet need? * would you suggest something different about the need for extra primary places?

After the closing date a report will go to Township Committees for their views before a final Cabinet Decision is taken.

Please send any comments or responses directly to me Chris Swift at the following address: Chris Swift, School Organisation & Development Team Manager, Supportfor Learning Service, PO Box 70, Municipal Offices, Smith Street, ROCHDALE, OL16 1YD Telephone: 01706 925016. e-mail: [email protected] by Tuesday 28th February 2012

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